Episode IV: And Then There Were Three
by bjs
Summary: Cole has a visitor......The Power of Three is re-established just in time for the sisters to enter into the fight of their lives. On a personal note, I would like to thank a very special friend for inspiring much of this episode. Come home soon....I mis


Episode IV

Episode IV: And Then There Were Three

Her heartbeat grew louder with each passing moment. Certain that the man sleeping so soundly before her would awaken, she stepped further into the darkness. Closing her eyes, the time began to slip away. Farther and farther back she went, to another time and place…. 

Looking into her eyes, he pushed a strand of hair from her face. "Do you know how beautiful you are?"

"I do now." She sighed contentedly. 

Adjusting his body slightly to ease some of the weight from the woman below him, he smiled down at her. "Should I move?"

"Not on my account." She laughed, wrapping her arms tighter around his body. 

"Oh, so if I decided to stay right here, in say…this position," lowering himself closer into her body he grinned mischievously, "you wouldn't mind?" 

Pursing her lips, she pretended to ponder the question, but gasped as he moved his hips into hers. "Not for a century or two." She moaned. 

"Good. It'll take at least that long for what I have in mind." 

Lowering his head, his lips captured hers, moving gently but hungrily into her opened mouth. His hands caressed her body, bringing it to life as no one had ever before. Leaving her mouth reluctantly, he began to trail soft kisses down her neck. Lingering at the base only long enough to illicit soft moans of pleasure, he moved lower. Replacing his hand with his lips he covered the hardened tip of her breast with his mouth. Arching her body to give him further access, she gasped as he took her swollen nipple between his teeth, gently nibbling. 

Trembling beneath him, her passion rising with each caress, reality began to fade away. The only thing that existed was his touch; the feel of his hard body pressing into hers. His arousal was more than evident as he rotated his hips into hers. His knee slipped between her legs opening her to his body. 

The fire inside her grew with each touch, each kiss. Slowly sliding her hands down his back, she felt his muscles contract. His body trembled with unleashed desire. Needing to make her his completely, he entered her body with slow and steady thrusts. She clung to him never wanting the moment to end. Their bodies moved as one taking them higher and higher until the world around them faded away and the only thing that existed was their love. 

Screaming his name as he took her over the edge, she pulled him further into her, willing him to follow and with one final thrust he took his release. Spiraling down into a never-ending cavern of bliss, they clung to each other as if this moment were their last. 

Cole could sense the presence before his eyes were completely open. Sitting up in bed quickly, he scanned the room. "Pheobe."

"Mom" Piper and Phoebe gasped in unison as Patti stepped past Leo. Not an apparition but a flesh and blood entity, she extended her arms toward her daughters.

"Oh, girls" she sighed as they fell into her arms releasing all of the emotions they had held for the past few days. Consoling them as if they were small children, she held them close to her. "Girls don't be sad." She whispered as their sobs began to subside. "Everything is going to be fine now. You mustn't grieve for Prue. She is happy now and she wants you to be also."

"Is she with you? Can we see her?" Phoebe sounded so young, like a little girl again, Patti thought. 

"Yes dear, she is with your grandmother now and will come to you soon, but the time is not right yet. She's still a little confused, as we all are at first, but she'll be fine. You know Prue, she'll be in charge of the place before long, and then I'm sure she'll be here." Smiling as she saw the lights begin to shine in their eyes again, Patti pulled them close to her. 

Not wanting to face the inevitable, but knowing she must soon, Piper took a deep breath and began to speak. "Mom, we haven't told Dad yet. We just didn't know how to tell him. We…."

"It's ok, honey. He knows. I just left him. He's very upset and doesn't understand completely what happened, but he knows that Prue is now finally at peace and that's helping him to deal with his loss. He's very worried about the two of you also and was coming as soon as I spoke with him, but I explained that you had to handle another matter this morning, so he'll be here tonight." 

Pulling back from her mother's embrace, Phoebe looked at her questioningly, "Mom, why didn't you or Grams tell us about Paige? Did you think we wouldn't understand?"

"No sweetie, it's not that. It's just that, things were very complicated and …..Oh, maybe I should start from the beginning. Why don't we all sit down and I'll try to explain it to you." Looking toward the counter Patti closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "Is that coffee I smell? Mmmmm, I really miss that. May I?"

"You know that stuff's bad for you." Piper giggled as she handed her mother a steaming cup and sat down beside her. 

Taking a long drink Patti began, "You both know that after your father and I separated that I became very close to Sam. We were very much in love. It was a dangerous time then, not unlike now. The underworld was causing more havoc than usual. No one really knew why, but demons were surfacing everywhere. Witches were in great danger. When I became pregnant with a Whitelighter's child, we were told that in order to keep the baby safe from harm, we would have to hide her after her birth. Unfortunately, we never made it that far. I was eight months pregnant with Paige when I died. Sam alerted the Elders and they removed her from my body before it was too late. She was taken to a Coven and given to them to raise and to prepare her for what is now coming. You see, I've known that this moment would come for a long time. I just didn't know when or how or which one of you it would be. I prayed that they were wrong, that you would somehow change your destiny, but it wasn't to be and now we're here. Don't look so shocked. I couldn't have exactly told you, now could I have."

The girls sat in shocked silence. Stunned at the details their mother had just revealed to them. Phoebe was the first to react. "Why, why couldn't you have told us? Warned us. Something….anything."

"And what should I have said? One of you is going to die. I don't know who or when or how, but one of you will die. How would you have reacted if I had told you that? For all I knew, this might not have happened for many years. I wanted you all to live, not exist. If I had told you, what kind of life would any of you have had up until now? Constantly looking over your shoulder, wondering when or who it would be. You've always known the dangers, but still managed to live your lives. You Piper, could you have given your heart and soul as freely to Leo and dreamed of a future with him, if you had thought that at any moment you might be taken away. And Phoebe, can you honestly tell me that with this knowledge you would have gone down the same path that you took three years ago? Could Prue have ever trusted anyone enough to love them? I really don't think so, and I wanted you all to live your lives as fully as possible. To be as happy as possible. If one of your lives was destined to be cut short, the least I could do was to let you live it to the fullest. I'm so sorry for your loss, but I can't be sad for Prue. She is safe now and at peace. It's you I'm worried about now." 

"Phoebe" Cole's voice echoed the panic on his face as he entered the kitchen a little too quickly. Coming to an abrupt halt, as he saw the three women sitting at the table, he looked from them to Leo and back. "I, ah, well I woke up and you were gone. I was worried." He stuttered.

"Obviously." Phoebe giggled. Making him uncomfortably aware of the fact that he had left the bedroom in such a hurry that the only thing he had taken time to put on were his pants. 

"And can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't have vanquished him if you had known." Patti whispered. "And _that_ would have been a shame." 

Rolling his eyes at the three laughing women, Leo decided it was time to give them some privacy, but even more so to give Cole a break. "Come on, why don't we let them talk and I'll fill you in." Taking a still embarrassed Cole by the arm, he ushered him through the door and away from the still giggling women. 

"And they say we're bad." He mused as they entered the living room. 

"Thanks," Cole was still a little confused, but very grateful for Leo's intervention. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Patti was just explaining about Paige."

"Oh, then I come barging in. That's great. Everyone but Phoebe already wants to burn me at the stake. Now, I'll have her mother wanting to light the fire." 

"Relax Cole, I haven't heard of any plans for a bonfire….not today anyway." Leo added mischievously, prompting the demon to cut his eyes toward him with exasperation.

"I need to get dressed." Cole mumbled as he rose and started toward the hallway, then stopped. "Leo, was anyonejust upstairs?"

"No…why?"

"I don't know, it's just that I thought that…It's probably nothing, but…"

"Cole, spit it out. We're in this together now. If there is something wrong, we _all_ need to know."

"Are we?" Cole looked at Leo questioningly. "Do you believe that? Do you _really_ believe that I'm not going to hurt Phoebe or Piper?"

Taken aback by Cole's question, Leo stared at him intently. "You know, I didn't like you when I first met you. I didn't trust you. I always knew there was more to you than meet the eye. I just couldn't put my finger on it, but Phoebe loved you so, I decided to give you a chance. Which I thought at the time was a big mistake."

"Leo, I don't care if you…"

"But I don't now. Listen Cole, I'm still not sure that I like you, but things _are_ different now. I _know_ that you love Phoebe and would do anything in your power to keep her from being hurt, and that includes not hurting someone that she loves. So, to answer your question….No, I don't think you would hurt either one of them. I really do think your intentions are good now and so are your instincts. You were a top level Demon for too long for them not to be, so if you think that something is wrong…I want to hear it."

Not being used to trust, Cole was temporarily stunned by Leo's admission. He had wanted their trust for so long, but had never dared to hope that he would ever have it. Now that it was being offered, he wasn't exactly sure how to handle it. "Ok, ah…well….when I woke up, I had a strange feeling that someone was there, watching me, but when I looked around, Phoebe was gone and no one else was there. Maybe due to the circumstances of the last few days, I was just imagining it, but I've learned to trust my instincts, and all my instincts are telling me that I wasn't alone."

"But Lenora said the house was guarded from evil, for a few more hours anyway?" 

"Yeah well, I'm here." 

"Yes you are, and that should tell you something." Patti had entered the room so quietly thatneither of the men had noticed her arrival. "Lenora's here. She and the girls are in the kitchen getting ready to leave, so if you two plan on going with them, I suggest you do the same." 

"Right." Cole smiled sheepishly. "I'll just be a minute." Walking toward the stairway, he suddenly stopped "Leo…Thank you." Then turned and quickly headed up the stairs.

Leo waited until Cole had disappeared from site then looked questioningly at his mother in law. "Do you know something I don't?"

"Not for long." she smiled, and turned back toward the kitchen.

Shaking his head in puzzlement, Leo began to follow her. "Nobody tells me anything." He muttered to himself.

"Good, is everyone ready now?" Lenora asked solemnly as Cole entered the room a few minutes later.

Piper looked around at the small group assembled in the kitchen and took a deep breath. "As ready as we'll ever be." 

"Well then, I guess we should be going. Remember what I told you earlier. Paige is expecting you, but she's not quite sure what to expect _from_ you. She's very nervous, so the more you can do to make her feel at ease, the better." Lenora added attempting to reinforce what she had relayed to the girls while waiting for Cole.

"Good morning." Phoebe smiled as she stepped into Cole's arms. "Did you sleep well?" 

"For a little while." He whispered, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Save it you two." Piper chimed in. "Geez, don't you ever stop?"

"NO!" Phoebe tried to look offended, but couldn't quite manage the pretense. 

Rolling her eyes at her sister, Piper turned to Lenora. "We're ready."

"Alright then." Lenora raised her hand and with a swift movement the group began to dissolve into air.

Reappearing in what seemed to be an instant, into a small village the group looked around cautiously. "Something's not right. They should be here." A small explosion, followed by an agonizing scream alerted them to the direction of the problem. 

The group began to run toward a small group of cottages. Rounding the corner at a dead run, they found themselves right in the middle of an all out battle. Several bodies lined the street, with others still fighting. The demons far outnumbered the group of witches whose powers were no match for their own. Or so it seemed. The shattering of glass to their left brought their attention to the cottage beside them just in time to see a bright red and very large demon fly through the air toward the still stunned group followed quickly through the door by a young and very beautiful woman. Gasping and jumping back to keep the demon from landing on them, Piper automatically raised her arm to push Phoebe out of the line of fire. 

Landing directly in front of the group, the demon started toward them the instant he hit the ground, but Piper, with a much more aggressive attitude than normal was ready for him. "Oh, Oh….No you don't." she quipped, as her hands flew up toward the stunned demon and he burst into pieces. 

The sudden emergence of the group was not ignored by the leader of the band of demons, who signaled to several of his followers. Immediately they disappeared and re-emerged surrounding the group. Without hesitation they went into action. Phoebe was the first to react with a swift spin kick to the head of the nearest demon. Cole followed suit with an energy ball to another. Piper and Lenora were joined by the young woman, who had emerged from the house only moments earlier, as they took on another group. Leo and Patti took this opportunity to orb to the group of wounded witches and began reviving them in order for them to rejoin the fight. 

With the new addition to the battle, the demons became increasingly aware that the assignment thatthey had been given; to destroy the coven, was not going to be as easy as they had first imagined. This new group of witches, who were joined by a Whitelighter and Belthazor himself, were more powerful than any Drakhan had ever seen. Letor had warned him that the young witch would be difficult to destroy, but this group was more than his army was expecting. He had heard the rumors that Belthazor had joined the Charmed Ones, but until now, had not believed that it was possible. He had worked with Belthazor in the past. He had been ruthless, rightfully living up to his legend. How could he have changed so much? Watching Belthazor turn his powers against his own kind made him ill. He would be a formidable opponent, he thought, but one he would relish defeating one day.

Cole looked up from his latest victim just in time to see the Demon directly in front of him releasing an energy ball in Phoebe's direction. Screaming her name to alert her, he threw one of his own hitting its mark with expert precision. 

As the demon came from behind on Phoebe, she spun quickly grabbing his arm and pulling him in front of her to use him as a shield against the ball of fire that had just been launched in her direction. As the force hit the demon shielding her, it propelled her backward into the young witch causing them both to crash to the ground. Lying side by side, they looked into each other's eyes. Without hesitation, Phoebe knew who she was. "Hi, you must be Paige." She said as they both got quickly to their feet, standing back to back facing their newest opponents. 

"And you would be?" The young witch questioned.

"Your sister…..Phoebe."

"Nice to meet you." Paige muttered, as she Tk'd her newest attacker.

"You too. That's Piper over there." Phoebe grunted coming around with a sidekick to a small but menacing looking demon that had just arrived. "You'll meet her too, just as soon as she gets a free second."

Lenora, who had been busy with several of Drakhan's men, turned just in time to see the lone demon advancing on Cole from behind. Cole who had been too occupied with a lethal looking opponent of his own, had missed the latest addition to the battle. As the demon was poised with a knife in hand ready to strike, she let out a scream that made the earth shake, temporarily drawing all of their attention to her. "NO…….." she wailed. All present stood silently, diverted from their tasks. They watched in horror and amazement as a bright light began emanating from her body. Her arms moved upward toward the sky and fire flew from her fingertips. Like guided missiles finding only their intended target, the small balls of fire, lit up and destroyed every demon in her sight. The battle was over as quickly as it had begun, but the effort had left her drained. Looking toward Cole, she whispered, "I couldn't let him…." Then collapsed onto the ground unconscious. 

Paige sat quietly by the side of the woman she had come to love and respect. Lenora was more to her than her guardian, she was her mentor, her surrogate mother. Gently wiping her forehead with a cool damp cloth, she watched as Lenora began to regain consciousness. "Are you alright?" She whispered worriedly.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Just give me a moment to regain my strength." Glancing around the dark room, she saw the others gathered together, worry etched on all of their faces. 

Cole stepped quietly from the group toward the bed. "You want to tell us what that was all about."

"Not really." She laughed. "Let's just say, I got a little over excited and leave it at that." Looking into his eyes, she wondered nervously. Did he know……had she not vanished quickly enough? She had known not to go to him, but the pull was too great. She couldn't let her desire rule her. The job must be finished at all costs……and quickly. 


End file.
